Our daughter graduated from college in May. My husband and I have been to many college graduations, but this one was different. It wasn’t different because it was our daughter, it was different because she graduated from a Lutheran college.

In this Year of Mercy, I continue to cover at least one or more of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy each month. Given that today is Memorial Day, a day where we remember those who have given their lives in service to the United States of America, I thought it fitting that we should cover the corporal work of mercy to bury the dead.

When you think of burying the dead, you think of attending someone’s funeral, correct? In one sense that is exactly what this corporal work of mercy requires us to do: to bury the dead by giving them a place of rest in a grave or urn. Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity; ever more so in death, by preparing that place of rest until the Second Coming of Christ, when Jesus will raise us all to new life. Until that day though, we all need that place of rest for our physical bodies.

Honoring the dead is part of the work of mercy to bury the dead.
On this day, I remember my dad, a World War II veteran... Read more...

When I first decided to spend my life searching for God I visited the great Carthusian monastery, St Hugh’s Charterhouse, Parkminster in Sussex, England with the intention of living the enclosed eremitical life. I was deeply impressed and I immediately came to the conclusion that it was here that I would like to spend the rest of my life. That is until I had a long talk with the monk who had shown me around. It was obvious that he was deeply happy in his chosen vocation despite long periods of spiritual darkness when the light of God’s love highlighted the sinfulness that kept him out. However, this did not deter me, for I had long since understood that before union with God could begin, it would have to be preceded by an inner purification, and I was eager for this purification to take place so that my deepest heart’s desire could be fulfilled. read on.....

"...Take patiently the petty annoyances,
the trifling discomforts,
the unimportant losses which come upon all of us daily;
for by means of these little matters, lovingly and freely accepted,
you will give him your whole heart, and win His.
I mean the acts of daily forbearance;
the headache, or toothache, or heavy cold;
the tiresome peculiarities of husband or wife..."

Every large organisation or institution has a Mission Statement. A
statement outlining what the Organisation is set up to do, what are its
values, ethics, and purpose.

Many years ago, in the year 325, the first ecumenical council of
churches met and wrote a "mission statement" which is better known as
the Nicene Creed. The name originates from the city of Nicaea in Turkey,
where the ecumenical council met.

Also known as the Credo, (I believe), this document or statement has been accepted by most Christian denominations in the world.

It is, in fact, what a Christian truly believes. It is what identifies a Christian from anyone else.

Let's look at it in some detail:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty.

This proclaims at the onset that there is only one God. We are taught to
see him and address Him as a Father. A symbol of love, caring, mercy
and forgiveness. And that He is almighty; not like any other father here
on earth.

I recently received the gift of tickets to see Andre Rieu. The concert isn’t scheduled for another six months so I've stored the tickets away until I need them. Imagine if I lose them!
Or if I forget I even had them! I will never experience the true joy the gift was intended to bring me. Nor could I genuinely show appreciation to my generous gift giver. God has provided us with spiritual gifts with which to live the spiritual life.
Over the next 7 months, the 10 Minute Daily Retreat will reflect on 7 of these gifts; one every month.
In June, we will reflect on the gift of Wisdom.
'Don't turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.' Proverbs 4:6 Join us on our journey! Reflections can be sent by email. Details on:

Gospel Luke 9:11b-17 (NRSV, Catholic Ed, Canada)
When the crowds found out about it, they followed Jesus; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baske…

Melanie and a friend were the only Catholics at a non-denominational conference for Sunday School teachers. Melanie was prayed with for her crooked spine. Her legs become the same length and she could stand straight. It was not until weeks later when a chiropractor was struck dumb and Melanie’s agnostic mother wept with joy, that she allowed herself to relax and simply accept the bizarre, the surreal. She was healed.

A Reflection based on the movie Risen ...Halfway through our viewing of the movie Risen (DVD available May 24th) - my husband, Kevin, turned to me and said; "Do you ever wonder what you would have believed if you were there during the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus?" While it is impossible to know how exactly I have believe, there is way too much hindsight and history behind my contemplation - I am very certain I would have been like Nicodemus. The one who was curious, sensed there was something to what this man was preaching, and followed him in secret; however in the end, after all he had heard and witnessed, was truly convinced Jesus was the Messiah. If 2000 years later, this is who I am, why would I have been any different if it was unfolding before my very eyes.

How do you want to be perceived by others? Do you want to be perceived in light of honesty and trustworthiness? I’m sure the answer is yes; who wouldn’t want to be perceived in such a manner? Well, to be considered honest and trustworthy, you have to be honest and trustworthy in your words and actions. Even con men get found out sooner or later; so deception will never win the day for you.

So, “everyone lies,” you say? Even if that were true, does that give you the right to lie? Just because everyone else does it, does that make it morally right for you? The answer is “no!”

For 36 years, I was a banking professional; more specifically, for 23 of those 36 years I was an auditor for a few banks. Therefore, I know what it feels like to be lied to by an audit client. It’s amazing... Read more...

As I was working on a book about teaching prayer, it occurred to me that
the chapter on silence would make a good blog. So here it is with a few
adaptations . . . All of us have memories stashed away that bear out
the truth of the saying “silence is golden.” Maybe you remember walking
into the peace of your own home after a noisy party, or taking a stroll
before anyone else was awake, or gazing at a baby fast asleep. Such
times are valuable because they draw us more deeply into reality.
Usually the world packs our minds with a million noises: music, chatter,
commercials, traffic sounds, crowds. Sheltered from these distractions,
we are free to concentrate on essentials. In silence we find truth
goodness, and beauty. In silence we discover who we are. Silence is the
air that our spirit must breathe if our spiritual life is to thrive. Click to continue

From the Amazon description:In this new e-book, Tacy Williams Beck seeks to discover the path to holiness as it relates to parenting, living by the Spirit in the home, and seeking to see the fruit of this holiness as a way of life.This book has been a process. As you may or may not know, it started as a series on this blog. Although you might think: Why are you selling what is already available on your blog as an e-book? That doesn't make any sense! Well, the answer is simple. I want you to have it in a beautiful format, fully edited and ready to go. No distractions, no hullabaloo. I want you to be able to keep it in a more permanent, put-together form!

Please catch the e-book today, as it is only 1.99 for a limited time! And if you don't mind, take a second to leave me a quick review on Amazon. I would love it, and it would …

Last night, about 10 PM, I searched the darkened sky for the planet
Mars. News reports said that Mars would be visible without a telescope.
I saw a beautiful “flower” moon rising in the sky. I don’t know why
it was called a flower moon, but it was beautiful!
Read More at Prayerfully Yours

Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir, by Jean M. Heimann, is a beautiful story of Jean’s life and love for Jesus. In this book, Jean artfully uses quotes from Saint Theresé of Lisieux, Saint John Paul II and Saint Teresa of Avila to help her tell her life’s story of pain and suffering, joy and sorrow, but most of all, her love for Christ.

Visit my website. Make a comment regarding this post on my website before 11:59 p.m. 5/23/16, and you might win your own autographed copy. Read more here...

My son is receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. Preparing him for the Sacrament has given me an opportunity to reflect on this passage from Acts 1:8 where the Lord dispatches the Apostles back to Jerusalem to await the "promise of the Father", the Holy Spirit, who will empower them.

Our children receive that very same Holy Spirit at Confirmation - like the apostles they too are empower to bring the love of Christ to a dark and weary world. Read more here...

'There are two dangers in life.
First, there is the danger of a too constant activity.
Second, there is the danger of too much withdrawal.
The rhythm of the Christian life is the alternate meeting with God in the secret place and serving people in the marketplace.' (William Barclay)
'He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.'
Mark 6:31-33 http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

Learning to Love with the Saints is not an autobiography nor is it a religious essay but rather a unique synthesis of both. Jean Heimann does not simply quote the saints, scripture and the Theology of the Body; the lives of the saints and Catholic spirituality have formed her, becoming part of her inner spirit. As a result, she seamlessly integrates her own life story with quotes as well as personal insights into suffering and the Love of God.
I watched my dad fall to his knees and hug the large cross, tenderly kissing the feet of Jesus. Then, in an instant, my mom was reaching out, bending low, nearly falling off her wheelchair to her knees, to embrace and reverently kiss the feet of the life-sized corpus. It was at that moment that I recognized where the void was in my life. Jesus had been missing! Only His love could fill that hole.
Her voice is authentic and her words ring true without artifice, enticing the reader to seek intimacy with God for themselves. It is a gripping read. c…

Although most respectable members of our parishes try to look healthy and content in public, mental illness is as common and invisible among the faithful as it is in secular circles. I would wager that mental health issues are especially prevalent among the devout who are serious about their inner life; when people tackle deep inner issues which prevent God from working in their lives, their inner equilibrium is upset by stress, anxiety and depression. This probably explains why most saints experienced profound periods of depression when they finally looked beneath their pious actions to face the reality of their own ingrained sin and subsequent need for inner purification.

I made Confirmation in sixth grade. Big deal. I graduated from the right side of my small public school to my junior/senior high school on the left side of the building that same year. More people came to that so if you're basing importance on people, I'd guess sixth grade graduation was more important.
As I prepared my eighth grade CCD students to receive their Confirmation, I thought back again to that year and tried to remember something from that time.
I remember I wore heels that were too high and a dress I wasn't thrilled with. I remember knowing my hair would NEVER look as good as Kim's, and I couldn't for the life of me remember every word of the Apostle's Creed.
Maybe I could have...
God Bless...
Please join me on Single Mom Smiling for the rest of this piece.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

During my kinder, primary and secondary school years, 1947 to 1961, my brother and I had breakfast and dinner - a midday meal in Ireland in those days - with our mother. In the evening we had 'tea', as that lighter meal was known in some English-speaking countries. My father had his dinner and tea combined, the four of us together. I often heard my mother 'complain' about having to prepare two meals for my father in the e…

Icon painters fast and pray as they paint, layering colours one on top of the other. This technique gives the icon a unique richness and depth. The effect of this technique is most obvious in the eyes which do not seem flat but rather realistic with depth and soul. Stained glass seems to reflect the Light of God continue reading

Hello! My name is Gloria J. Pinsker and I am honored to be a new member of this group. I write a blog called "Everyday Life Spirituality," which I started in March 2016. My "Mission Statement" is to give hope, help, inspiration and encouragement to those who, like me, are
striving to lead a good, productive life and stay true to their spiritual
ideals, while effectively coping with the stresses and problems of everyday
living.

I would love for you to stop by my website, read my posts, and please feel free to comment! Here is a post from May 11, 2016 in honor of Pentecost Sunday -- my loving tribute to the Holy Spirit:

Brother John was a man with the best of intentions but a terrible temper that made him impossible to live with. He decided to go into the desert and find a monastery where he could come to terms with his affliction. In less than a year the monks found his temper so impossible that he had to leave.They gave him a fine set of pots and plates, a large jug of goat's milk and enough food for a month. Then they helped him find a cave in which to live as a hermit. At last he thought, he could come to terms with his temper because there was no one there to try him. read on...

What was going through the minds of Mary, the disciples, and Jesus' followers as they sat in the Upper Room? Did they exchange eye contact? Did they talk in whispers? Just how afraid were they? Did they, even KNOWING, after SEEING with their own eyes and TOUCHING with their own hands, still question whether Jesus would keep His word? Did they still wonder whether He would truly send someone to be with them? Did they keep fears to themselves, afraid saying them aloud would make them come true? Did they keep quiet, bravely not wanting to drag others down?

We can speculate about thoughts of believers between the Ascension and Pentecost and get nowhere fast, or we can learn from studying what they did while their belief mingled with their lingering human fear, uncertainty, and confusion. To continue reading and learn 4 Lessons from the Upper Room you can apply to your divorce or struggling Marriage, please join me at Single Mom Smiling. Thank you for commenting, liking, and sharing! God B…

This past weekend, I was honored to present my “Living a Virtuous Life” day retreat to my home parish. I have to admit, that I was nervous at first. I kept thinking about the biblical passage where Jesus wasn’t accepted within His own home town of Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30). Would my own parish family treat me the same? It wasn’t like I was claiming “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21), but I was proclaiming what we as followers of Christ need to do to become more Christ-like; more virtuous. I kept wondering, “why should I be treated any better than Jesus was treated?” If anything, I should be treated worse, because I don’t deserve the level of respect that Jesus deserved. He is God; I am a mere human servant.

Yet, Sunday was Pentecost Sunday; a day to celebrate when the Apostles received the power of the Holy Spirit. My pastor and I decided to... Read more...

This Sunday we will celebrate the only feast in honor of God: the feast
of the Holy Trinity. Our Muslim and Jewish friends do not believe in the
Trinity; we Christians do because the three Persons are revealed in the
Gospels. The doctrine of one God but three Persons is the fundamental
belief of our faith. It is also the most mystifying. People propose
metaphors for the Trinity: the three-leaf clover, the three forms of
water, and even an egg (shell, white, and yolk). This week I learned a
new one—a candle. The wick is the Father, the flame is the Son, and the
warmth and light that emanate from the wick and flame is the Holy
Spirit. Click to continue

You may want to check out this new video on Christ's call to follow Him in the Gospel of John. It's a concept we dig into in our newest Bible study for parishes.

You can find more details on the study with Dr. Edward Sri here. It will be released this summer. We really hope it'll be a way for parishes to introduce people in small groups to the person of Christ as presented by John.

Pope Francis' universal prayer intention for May is "Respect for Women." One innovative way to pray with the Pope this month is to invite women into prayer. Author Julie Dortch Cragon can help, with her unique and refreshing new book from Franciscan Media, Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women.

"Well... that's obviously a wrong theory, because heh... that was my philosophy way back in the day."This was how a conversation I was having with a fellow blogger started.I knew it wasn't going to go well. :-p Or end well.

I was just remembering as we had this conversation, that we had some friends of Polish descent in D.C. The Dad was in the grad program with Stephen at CUA. They named their first born son Stanislaus and called him Stash. Pronounced "Stahsh." I honestly think that is such a cool name, and I'm tucking it away for future ideas! I remember the first time they had us over for dinner. Laura made steak-frites (homemade french fries and steak) and I saw tons of games on their shelves. I was impressed to learn that they were really big into playing Settlers of Catan and Chess together as husband and wife. Laura also goes down in history as the person who said to me, "I think the coolest thing about being Catholic is that I can 'go ge…

Infusing oils with herbs is an easy process, but it just takes time.
If you want to infuse oils with herbs, you fill a quart jar with
herbs, leaving about and inch of open space on the top. You will the
jar with oil, preferably olive oil, still leaving about an inch of open
space in the jar. Cover the jar, put the jar in the sun, and wait 2-4
weeks. (Bring the jar in at night.) Waiting until 4 weeks to finish the
processing of the oil is best because the oil becomes deeply scented.
Strain and use as needed.
Insert sound of a needle scratching a phonograph record.
Read More At Prayerfully Yours

The Back Story to Hope's Character
Hope Livingstone, and her family, had just moved into a new house, in a new town. Life was chaotic. Boxes were everywhere. Peanuts were flying out of boxes, thanks to Hope’s little sister Charity. Hope didn’t mind that it would mean that Hope would need to clean it all up. Hope thought moving was exciting! Everywhere she turned, she found a new surprise, as she explored every nook and cranny of their new house!

Hope always looks at life as if it were an adventure; something to explore; treasures to find. So moving was thrilling to Hope, who possesses an optimistic nature. She approaches life with an easy-breezy style. Nothing ever really bothers her; that is, until she couldn’t find... Read more...

In my day, if I wanted to increase my tennis prowess, I would watch Chris Evert Lloyd’s moves on the court. When my mother cut my hair in the iconic ‘Dorothy Hamill’ pixie, my whole world revolved around the dream of being an Olympic skater. I watched her every skating competition, eager to pick up even the tiniest trick to hone my skills. For the record, my moves were ample for the make-believe Pond Capades but never truly worthy of the hairdo.

Here is a sampling of what I have to learn from Jesus Expert, Mary ... SEE them here

Mystery. Holy Trinity. Three Persons, One God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Enter into the Upper Room. Open the door and step inside. The
Apostles are in prayer, except for those who are sleeping. It’s early
in the morning. The light is soft and entering in through the windows.
Peter has been praying all night. He looks tired, but he gets up to
drink from the pitcher of water. He blows out the lamps that have been
burning all night, and he looks out the windows around the room in
search of Roman troops coming to arrest them.
Read more at Prayerfully Yours